Restless
by Skylark Starflower
Summary: Nya realizes she and Zane have something in common as the two spend a sleepless night talking. Post season six, so expect major spoilers if you haven't finished watching it yet.


Author's Note/Disclaimer: Do be do be do, don't own Ninjago, da de da de do, please don't sue …

Honest to god, I didn't decide to write another story about Zane because he's my favourite character. This one is technically about Nya, inspired after re-watching season six. The fact that she and Zane now have something in common that none of the other ninja share was just too interesting not to explore. The rating is mostly for the description Nya gives of the effects of the Tiger Widow venom. Not much else to say about that, so here ya go. Have fun.

" **Restless"  
By Skylark Starflower  
Started June 7, 2016  
Finished June 17, 2016**

She lay awake, staring at the ceiling. There wasn't much to see in the dark, but she couldn't think of anything else to do. If she went to sleep, she would be beset once more by nightmares. She didn't want to bother the others, who were no doubt sleeping themselves at this hour.

Nya sighed. Only she and Jay could remember what had transpired with Nadakhan and his pirates. So far, neither of them had burdened the others with that knowledge. They both agreed that something needed to be done about Echo Zane, not wanting to leave the robot stuck on that island, alone and abandoned, but the minute they brought him up, the whole story would have to come out. It wasn't that they didn't want everyone to know, but Nya wasn't yet ready to tell Kai how close to death she had come.

Still, that death haunted her. The nightmares just wouldn't stop, and talking to Jay didn't help. She loved him, but he couldn't offer any insight into the situation - he had never experienced anything like it himself.

Sighing, she crawled out of bed and wandered to the kitchen. Maybe some warm milk would help. Reaching the kitchen, she was surprised to find light filtering into the hall. Someone was already awake. Slowly, she walked over to the doorway and peeked inside.

Zane was sitting at the table, nursing a cup of what appeared to be coffee, looking thoroughly miserable. Nya didn't want to pry, but at the same time, she was curious what was bothering him. After a moment, she walked into the kitchen. Zane either didn't notice, or didn't care. Nya walked over to the fridge, poured herself a glass of milk, warmed it up and then joined Zane at the table. Neither of them said anything for several minutes, sipping at their respective drinks in silence.

"Couldn't sleep?" Zane asked eventually. He didn't meet her eyes.

"No. How about you?" Nya replied, staring at her own cup.

"The same, more or less."

The two fell silent again. Nya knew talking to Zane could be difficult, but it wasn't usually this hard. Something must really be bothering him. She wanted to get to the bottom of it, but at the same time, she had her own secrets to keep. She would rather he didn't pry into her affairs; it wouldn't be fair to do it to him.

"Is that coffee?" she asked, trying to change the subject. When Zane nodded, she continued. "If you can't sleep, why are you drinking that? Won't it just keep you awake?"

The nindroid studied the contents his cup, which was now mostly empty. "To be honest, caffeine has no effect on me. It just … seemed appropriate."

Nya cocked her head. "Oh?"

He paused as though considering something, or perhaps he was listening to something PIXAL was saying. A moment later, he replied, "I do not wish to sleep."

"Is there a problem? Maybe I can help."

"I doubt it."

Nya frowned. "Why, is it because I'm a girl? Honestly, you boys …"

Zane seemed surprised by Nya's response. "What? No, it's nothing like that." He sighed. "I've been having nightmares, that's all."

"Zane, everyone has nightmares. You should have seen Kai after our father passed away. I honestly wouldn't be surprised to find out it still bothers him to this day."

Something about Zane's expression changed when she said that, but she wasn't quite sure what it meant. Then something clicked in her head.

"Zane, are you still being troubled by the death of your father?"

"Huh? No, it's not that …"

Suddenly, Nya knew exactly what his problem was. The corner of her mouth turned up in a slight, sad smile. "Are you still having nightmares about the time you faced down the Digital Overlord?"

Zane was clearly taken aback. He stared at her for a moment before looking away, his expression closing off once more. "It is not something I like to talk about, and I fear no one would understand, anyway."

"You'd be surprised, then."

Nya knew Jay would be upset with her for telling. They had agreed to do it together, once they were ready, and with everyone present. Still, given what she knew now, Zane had been suffering with this since he'd been rebuilt. Now that she shared a similar experience, something no one should ever have to go through, she figured perhaps the two of them could help each other.

Zane didn't interrupt her as she told her story, except on the rare occasion to ask for clarification. She carefully avoided mentioning Echo; she didn't think now was a good time to bring _that_ up.

"I honestly don't know how it hit me," she said, finally drawing to a close, "but as soon as it did, I knew that was it. Staring death in the face like that, knowing it's inevitable …" Nya looked up at Zane. "It's terrifying."

Zane nodded slowly. "I didn't want to die. I just could not see any other way to defeat the Digital Overlord. To say I was not scared would be a lie." He was silent for a moment. "None of what you've described has actually happened. How did that occur?"

"To be honest, I don't know for sure. Nadakhan turned back time for some reason. I assume Jay made his last wish, but I don't actually know what it was. He won't tell me. Says it's embarrassing."

Zane didn't reply as he stood to refill his cup. When he sat down again, his eyebrows were creased in consternation. "Nya, may I ask a question? You don't have to answer if you don't wish to."

"Sure. What is it, Zane?"

"What was it like, when you died?"

"Oh, gosh, that's difficult." Nya took a moment to gather her thoughts before continuing. "I remember dying more so than actually being dead. After I died, there was just … nothing. It didn't last long, so I don't know if that's all there ever would have been.

"Dying from Tiger Widow venom isn't pleasant. At first, it's like your whole body is on fire, but you don't have the energy to cry out. The burning quickly fades, to be replaced by a pins and needles like sensation, like when a limb falls asleep." She paused to glance at Zane. "You know what I mean?"

He shrugged. "I've heard the expression before, but I do not believe I have ever experienced it. My limbs do not 'go to sleep', after all."

"I suppose that's true," Nya said with a little laugh. "Continuing on, it's not the venom that kills you. Not directly, anyway. You suffocate as it paralyzes your lungs." She shuddered. "I don't ever want to do that again."

The two were silent for several minutes. Nya had finished her milk a while ago, but never bothered to refill it. Now she fiddled with the empty glass. "That's not quite what you were looking for, though, was it?"

"Not exactly, no. I mean, overloading my power source was not a fun experience either, but I'll hazard that it wasn't nearly as bad as Tiger Widow venom.

"I actually meant, what went through your head? I chose my own destruction, but you had no choice. I'm curious to know how that affects one's outlook on the situation."

"To be honest, what I remember most vividly is the anger. I was angry that there was nothing I, or anyone else, could do about it. You know I'm stubborn to a fault, and I guess that's true even when I'm faced with certain death." Nya couldn't help laughing. "I was sad, too. I was never going to get to find out what would happen if I kept dating Jay, or get married and start a family. Like, really married, not that sham Nadakhan forced me into. So many things I wanted to do in my life, and I knew none of it would ever happen."

Nya stopped, let out a sigh and stared at the table. Zane found the expression on her face almost frightening. He had never seen Nya look so helpless and scared before.

"Then there was the fear. I didn't, and still don't, want to die. I'm even more terrified now because when I was dead, there was nothing. Every time I close my eyes, it reminds me of it. I always thought there would be _something_ , you know? Like, I'd get to see my mother and father again, maybe … I don't want to just cease to exist."

"That's odd," Zane said thoughtfully, almost to himself. Nya fixed him with a curious look but didn't say anything. She didn't have to.

"When I died, I had a vision. There was a woman … I've never seen her before or since; I have no idea who she was. She told me it wasn't my time, yet. I honestly don't know how I was able to rebuild myself; it never occurred to me to make a backup. I have this feeling that, whoever she was, somehow, she was the one responsible for my revival."

"Huh." Nya clasped her hands in front of her. "I wonder who she was. And why did you see her, but I saw nothing?"

"Perhaps it was the nature of fate that you saw nothing, because it was destined that you wouldn't remain dead?"

"I guess that could be the case. Either way, we'll probably both never know for sure."

"That seems likely."

The two fell silent, neither knowing what to say next. Nya went to take a drink, forgetting her glass was empty. Zane peered into his, finding it empty as well.

Eventually, Nya broke the silence. "I should probably try to get back to sleep. If you ever need to talk again, you know where to find me, okay?"

Zane nodded and stood up. "Thank you, Nya. I should probably head to bed, myself. PIXAL worries if I don't sleep, though she knows full well I don't actually need to."

The two cleared away their dishes, said goodnight to each other, and headed to their respective bedrooms. Nothing could take away the hurt, but it was different, at least, knowing they weren't alone.

 **The End**


End file.
